Seeds of Happiness? Aye, Right...

BRITAIN could be a happier place next week, thanks to a unique psychological experiment aimed at spreading smiles around the country. For five days, starting on Monday, thousands of people will be invited to go online and try one of four proven mood-boosting techniques.The idea is to plant seeds of happiness, which then "infect" others, sending waves of cheerfulness across recession-hit Britain. Polls conducted before and after the experiment will assess whether it has worked.Professor Richard Wiseman, who is leading the study, has high hopes that it will, if enough people participate.

From The Scotsman

Waves of cheerfulness? As I write this, it's the last day in July. It's raining, far too dark for our supposed summer and the weather forecast is for more rain. Having spent far too much money in Dublin a couple of weeks ago I'm financially embarrassed. True, the football season is just around the corner but the European results of Scots clubs this week gives fans in this country sweet FA to look forward to. In any case, Hearts are being threatened by the Tax Man. To be fair to the man from the Inland Revenue he does have a soft side. He sent me a letter a few weeks ago telling me my tax return was outstanding. Which I thought was particularly nice given I couldn't remember sending one in the first place. But I digress...

Waves of cheerfulness? Try being in Edinburgh when the bloody Festival is about to start. And the city has even more bloody tourists than usual. Try going to work in the morning and fighting through dozens of non-English speaking visitors to the capital who are trying to work out the best way to get to Princes Street. Not on my bloody bus, mate.

Waves of cheerfulness? Try being in Edinburgh while striking binmen refuse (see what I did there?) to clear debris from the streets and the rubbish piles even higher and the seagulls swoop incessantly. And the city centre resembles the biggest building site in the world all in the name of bloody trams.

Waves of cheerfulness? Try working in the Human Resources profession when it appears about every second person in the company you work for claims to have bloody swine flu. Try working your backside off when you may have something ten times worse than swine flu - Man Flu. That's even more difficult to diagnose as men generally don't complain when they fall victim to this - we just get on with things as I'm sure the female readers of this blog will concur.

Waves of cheerfulness? Try being treated as a human assault course by four year old and soon to be two year old brats - sorry, loveable grandchildren.

So, Professor Wiseman, I suggest you take your seeds of happiness and stick them where the sun don't shine. Which, this summer, could be anywhere in Scotland...

Where Mountains Meet the Sea

My good friend Lizzy celebrates her birthday on Wednesday. She is one of the finest writers I know as well as being a good friend. I highly recommend her excellent blog

She is a Celtic supporter but, hey, we all have our cross to bear. Happy Birthday, Lizzy!

The 12th Man

Hitting the streets the week after next will be The 12th Man, a brand new magazine covering all that's good in Scottish football - and Hibs (sorry, fellas!) Well, I say the streets; it will be available in Glasgow newsagents - the rest of the country will hopefully follow suit.

The magazine has been around in pdf format for the last few months but will now be in good, old-fashioned printed format. If you can't see it in the shops, the magazine is available to buy via the following link:

http://scotzine.com/fanzines/

It costs just £2.50 which includes postage and packing.

There are numerous English football magazines such as FourFourTwo and When Saturday Comes which are excellent. But The 12th Man is specifically about Scottish football and hopefully will appeal to the thinking football fan.

Even if you're not into football, if you know someone who might be interested, please let them know about it. Interested parties outside Scotland can still obtain a copy using the link above - if they have a PayPal account.

All support gratefully received!

Am I The Only One Thinking...

....what's the bloody point?

Apt Words

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider motorways but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less.We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.These are days of quick trips, disposable nappies, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a penny.

Remember,to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for some day that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

Africa

The link below is a YouTube video featuring a 1980s pop classic. The rock band Toto scored their biggest hit with Africa in 1982. The song is instantly recognisable. But it has been reinvented.

Perpetuum Jazzile is an a Capella jazz choir from Slovenia. It’s hard to think of something further from an ‘80s rock band. But their version of Africa is arguably better than the original.

The beginning of this video is really striking. Group members simulate an African thunderstorm with their hands.It’s really something to see and hear. (Don't turn up your sound - the sound of raindrops begins really soft.)

http://baricko.us/africa.htm

The Good and the Bad of Dublin

I'm just back from a long weekend in Dublin. A fine weekend was had and plenty of pints of the black stuff were consumed - even though the state of the pound means the Euro, the currency now used in Ireland's fair city, is almost on parity with Sterling. Which means a pint of Guinness is five Euros upwards...

They say you get what you pay for in life. Cheap flights from Edinburgh to Dublin - £53 return - was decent enough value even though the flight takes little more than an hour. It's also true to say when I booked cheap accommodation in the heart of Dublin I wasn't expecting The Ritz. And it's something of an understatement to say I certainly didn't get it.

The Clifton Court Hotel is situated on the banks of the River Liffey. And that's about all it has going for it. The rooms are tiny, the walls paper thin - we could hear the couple in the next room's very lively sexual activities - and the stairs leading to the fourth floor are narrow and not for the claustrophobic. The bathroom we had was about the size of a small linen cupboard - and had the constant smell of dampness. All this we could just about put up with - we were only there for a boozy weekend in any case - but what wasn't acceptable was the potential of people's lives being put at risk as happened in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The fire alarm went off at 12.15am for a few seconds before stopping. A false alarm, we thought - until it went off again two minutes later. This time for considerably longer. We threw our clothes on, grabbed our passports and wallets and headed down to reception in a state of fear although not quite panic. The reception was on the first floor and those guests who thought it prudent to make their way down the perilously steep stairway were greeted by a nonchalant young fella behind the desk asking what we were doing. As the fire alarm was still blaring away we rather assumed the building was alight. 'No, no' the fella on duty told us, 'it's only the alarm. It'll be someone smoking in their room - there is no fire'

'How do you know that?' I asked incredulously.

'I don't know for sure but my colleague is away to check the room concerned'

Meanwhile about two dozen startled and frightened guests were looking down from the stairway not sure what to make of it all. 'Is there a fire?' someone asked. 'Apparently they're not sure' I replied somewhat sarcastically.

It transpired there was no fire and it had been a guest allegedly smoking hash in his room - and had compounded the offence by using an air freshener to try and alleviate the smell. But there was no apology from the staff, no organisation and, frighteningly, no proper fire drill procedure that I could see. One couple felt so alarmed they immediately checked out although they also cited the fact their room was so damp it was like sleeping in a fish tank. It could have been a scene straight out Fawlty Towers, the famous BBC sitcom of the 1970s.

The other side of the Dublin coin was the excellent Gallagher's Boxty House in the city's Temple Bar area. The Boxty House serves the best Full Irish Breakfast in Dublin by far! The food was sublime, the service excellent, the staff friendly and efficient. Next time I'm in Dublin it'll be the first place I head for.

If you haven't been to Dublin, I can highly recommend it. I've been there three times now and the city is quite magnificent. Gallagher's Boxty House is a maginifcent traditional Irish pub and serves high quality traditional Irish fare. Sadly, the same can't be said of the Clifton Court Hotel.

I hope I'm not proved right but that establishment could well be a tragedy waiting to happen...